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Advice file readiness · best interests and records

Would this file stand up to a review? Fourteen questions.

Pick one client file and answer each question about what is in it. The score shows how much of what the law asks for is there, and every gap is listed with the section it comes from.

Checked against the law on 7 October 2026.

  • 01

    Best interests steps

    Does the file record the objectives, financial situation and needs the client disclosed to you, as they gave them?

    s961B(2)(a)

  • 02

    Best interests steps

    Does the file record the subject matter of the advice and the client’s circumstances relevant to it, including anything left out of scope?

    s961B(2)(b)

  • 03

    Best interests steps

    Where information was incomplete or did not add up, does the file show the inquiries you made and what the client told you?

    s961B(2)(c)

  • 04

    Best interests steps

    Does the file show you assessed whether you had the expertise to give this advice?

    s961B(2)(d)

  • 05

    Best interests steps

    Where a product recommendation was reasonable, does the file show the products you investigated and how you assessed them?

    s961B(2)(e)

  • 06

    Best interests steps

    Does the file link each recommendation back to the client’s relevant circumstances?

    s961B(2)(f)

  • 07

    Records the licensee must keep

    Does the file record the advice and why it would be reasonable to conclude it is appropriate to the client?

    s912G(2)(c) as inserted by ASIC Instrument 2024/508; s961G

  • 08

    Records the licensee must keep

    Where there was a conflict of interest, does the file show how you gave priority to the client’s interests?

    s912G(2)(d) as inserted by ASIC Instrument 2024/508; s961J

  • 09

    Records the licensee must keep

    If the advice was given on incomplete or inaccurate information, is the warning recorded?

    s961H; s947B(2)(f), s947C(2)(g)

  • 10

    The advice document

    Is the Statement of Advice on file, or a Record of Advice where one of the exceptions applies?

    s946A; s946AA, s946B

  • 11

    The advice document

    Are the documents the SoA mentions kept with it?

    Corporations Regulations reg 7.7.09C

  • 12

    Keeping the file

    Will the file be kept for 7 years after the advice, and stay accessible so the licensee can produce it?

    s912G(3) as inserted by ASIC Instrument 2024/508; reg 7.7.09C

  • 13

    Ongoing fees

    If the client pays an ongoing fee: is there a current written consent, signed and dated by the client, given after the required disclosure, with a copy held?

    s962F, s962G

  • 14

    Ongoing fees

    If the client pays an ongoing fee: do your records show your compliance with the ongoing fee rules?

    s962X

Sources

This is a self-check and general information, not legal or compliance advice. The questions paraphrase the law; the exact words are in the sources above. How an obligation applies turns on your licence, your licensee's policies and the advice given. Confirm with your licensee or legal adviser.

The record-keeping duty quoted as s912G was inserted into the Act by ASIC Instrument 2024/508, which is repealed at the start of 1 October 2029.